Bolerosoft

Thanks so much for covering my game, so happy you enjoyed it :)

Thanks so much :) Hope you enjoy!

Thanks so much, especially for the review! Yep, that's the plan, it will pick up your demo save and also carry across any achievements.

YouTube video by Static Canvas Sixteen NEXTfest demos that are worth your time | Static Canvas

This mention from @buliaros.bsky.social really made my day. Thank you so much, I'm so happy you liked the demo!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u21t...

So, Next Fest is off to a good start.

See, Steam algorithm, if you actually show my game to people, they may actually have a chance to wishlist it! #gamedev #indiedev #nextfest #steam

Hey.

Tell people when they do good job.

When you like the stuff they make.

When you like the characters they’ve created.

The stories they’ve told.

Nobody hears it as often as you think bc everyone thinks everyone hears it all the time.

Trust. They don’t.

Tell. Them.

Mysteries of Old Tokyo, my debut game, is in Steam Next Fest, starting right now! It's a detective adventure puzzler set in Tokyo, with reams of historical research. Add to your wishlist! Try the demo! #indiegames #steam #demos

It's better spending time making something fun, rather than something with no bugs and no gameplay.

I've received quite a bit of feedback that goes something like: "I couldn't click this button, the scrollbar is broken here, and in the last puzzle I clicked something and my PC caught fire. I love the game! Instabuy on release."

I think devs care about bugs way more than players. People are quite forgiving of demos, at least. #indiedev #solodev #gamedev

Made my Next Fest graphic!

It's so tough to like ... sell my entire game with one image. Constantly questioning if I should add more, or less. I tried a split-screen then/now effect, but it just didn't work.

Anyway, play the demo! And wishlist! #indiedev #solodev #gamedev

Deployed a tiny (2 line) hotfix for the demo. Stupid oversight, but the "evidence at station" trigger wouldn't trigger if you arrived by train (which you would, it being a train station and all!). Apologies for the error. #indiegames #gamedev #indiedev

It works really well now! It’s neat to compare my routes to Google Maps and see how accurate they are. I know pathfinding isn’t that difficult in terms of computation, but it’s cool to think I coded it.

Not to be confused with scope crepe 😁

I reworked the route directions algorithm, which was a fun technical challenge. Instead of joining stations directly, it now goes one step more and simulates the stations AND platforms as nodes. So there’s a penalty for changing lines, which makes the pathfinding algorithm prefer straight routes.

Mysteries of Old Tokyo - Demo Update v2.1.1 - Steam News New game on-boarding for Next Fest

Hopefully the real last update before Next Fest next week.
store.steampowered.com/news/app/378...

It's kinda funny (but not funny) that every time I think my game is feature complete, I decide to add more features, and hence more bugs.

I think I need to be pretty strict from now on, especially with Next Fest rapidly approaching. Ideally this should be the last demo release. #gamedev #indiedev

YouTube video by Bolerosoft Mysteries of Old Tokyo - Release Trailer

The all-new release trailer for MYSTERIES OF OLD TOKYO! Available April 2026 on Steam. Try the demo today. #indiegames #solodev #indiedev
youtu.be/7nkPYb_s0G8

After 248 days on the store, I've reached my pre-Next Fest target of 3,000 Steam wishlists.

Hard to believe I'm at this point. I remember when 300 wishlists was a crazy number. To once again quote LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy: "Thanks for supporting this weird thing!" #indiedev #gamedev

I think the Ace Attorney games do this really well.

You have to resist the temptation to add steps like "Click "Close" to close", knowing that any player who struggles at that point probably won't enjoy the game anyway.

It's surprisingly hard to make a satisfying tutorial.

You have to teach the player without them catching on. You have to give them freedom to do what they want, but also steer them away from anything they're not ready for. #gamedev #indiedev

I'm thinking I need to rework the tutorial for my demo before Next Fest. Needs more of a hook. At the moment it's a bit "ugh, first day at a new job, gotta do all this paperwork", which in retrospect is not the best way to keep players engaged. #gamedev #indiedev

MY GAME IN 4 WORDS:

Acid
Fantasy
Barbarian
Slasher

#indiedev #indiegame #indiedrop

Mysteries of Old Tokyo - Demo Update v2.1.0 and Next Fest Prep - Steam News Explore more to unlock locations and evidence!

Read more and try the demo: store.steampowered.com/news/app/378...

In the run-up to Next Fest, there's a new pre-release demo for MYSTERIES OF OLD TOKYO! V2.1.0 totally changes the way you explore new locations and discover evidence with an improved map of Tokyo. #indiegames #demos #steam #nextfest

Extremely accurate

this hybrid Nokia/Apollo/Garmin rubber-edged tactile Thing with lights that feels almost real but also impossible, and it's my magnum opus even though it's just a menu. I'm just really happy with it.

New menu. I love this thing. I don't know why. It feels very personal to me. Like, years of messing around in image editors and learning to code and thinking about design have created this,
#indiegames #indiedev #gamedev

(Please do not abuse the pager system as we are on a limited data plan.)